Tears and a Friend
by Seanait
Summary: Daniel peers through the Quantum Mirror and sees someone in need of some comfort. [writer's blockage]
1. Hug Police

i was feeling kind of sniffly one day, so i wrote this story... and Nightpheonix, no hints to my reviewers!

**Tears and a Friend**

* * *

Daniel flipped through the channels of the quantum mirror languidly for the last time before they took it away. He wanted to see what else was out there in those alternate reality worlds. Maybe a Jack who understood everything Sam said or a Jack and Sam role-reversal world. He shuddered. Gods… 

The stone started showing people in their houses partying, dancing, drinking, sighing, and crying. He stopped on one of the scenes and peered through the rock-like mirror to see a computer with typing up on the screen. In front of it was a teenage girl with her head down. Her red hair was bobbing up and down suggesting that she was crying. On each renewed breath, her body rocked a bit.

Daniel felt sad with her. He looked around the room and saw that no one else was there. He grappled with going to comfort her or not because teens could be touchy. Her gray hoodie made it seem like her house was a bit colder than the SGC. Sighing he put his hand to the mirror and stepped through.

Slowly he walked up behind her and put a comforting hand over her shoulder. She startled and took a deep breath. The girl spun to see who it was that had done that. Behind Daniel, she could see the mirror on.

"Did you come through that?" she asked with a small shake in her voice. He nodded and answered her softly with a small smile.

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Nothing… something stupid," she replied as equally soft. Daniel walked to her left and stopped at a computer chair that had a bag on it and a bag beside it.

"May I sit?"

"Yeah whatever." Daniel skillfully pulled the wheeled chair across the rug to sit beside the red-haired girl. He looked at her head, not many people in the SGC had red hair. Actually, none did.

"Tell me anyways."

She shrugged. "Okay. See, I have this project in my history class – big project, and my teacher gives a LOT of homework. So we have no lives. And I need some books on the Boston Massacre so I can turn forty note cards in on Monday." She wiped her eyes, took in a wheasy breath and continued on. "My dad was giving me a hard time about how I should have done it earlier, when I didn't have a schedule or anything, and how he warned me about this kind of mess. He ALWAYS has to be right, doesn't he?" she said harder and to herself more than anyone.

"Parents," he said smiling a bit.

"Yeah I know. Anyway, that's what all this," she spread her arms out to show him the books, folders, and notecards on the desk. "Is for. Well, and that," she added pointing to a works cited page on her computer.

"Anyone else home?" Daniel asked as he heard something creak. She looked over from where the sound came from.

"Nah, just me and dad. My mom lives elsewhere."

"Good… no one to discover me," Daniel replied.

"Yeah… I figure you're gonna rape me or anything, right?" He chuckled.

"Of course not! Why would I ever think of that?" Daniel visibly shuddered. She'd hit a topic he was disturbed about, not a good way to make friends.

"Sorry I asked. Just had to make sure." She glanced back at the mirror. "Looks very military."

He shrugged. "Yeah. I work for the Air Force."

"Cool! Gotta rank?"

"Nope, I'm an archeologist." Her eyes widened.

"You're kidding!"

"Nope."

"Sweet," she responded.

Daniel cocked his head. "You like history much?"

"Yeah… just **despise** American history. It's SO boring," she argued. "Especially after having it for three and a half years straight, excepting last year where I got World History. Yes!" she added. Daniel smiled again.

"That's good. I'd be insulted if you didn't like history. Lots of fun… rocks to play with." He had winced playfully at the word 'rocks.'

The girl coughed again. It wasn't a cough that said 'I'm-sick' it was more of a 'there's-something-in-my-working-conditions' cough. It was deep in the throat.

"Sorry. Just caught it after babysitting at a house under construction." Daniel looked as if he understood. "See, my school's under construction," she rolled her eyes, "but I never coughed then, but there's something at my friend's house – the one I babysat- that made me cough and I guess the school has just been irritating it."

"Huh… that's not cool."

"Not at all."

"I never asked you your name, did I?" The girl smiled.

"No…. you just came on through without ringing the doorbell," she smiled with him. Daniel liked this young woman; she was sarcastic – like Jack. That could mean trouble, but she was nice.

"Soy Jess," she said holding out her left hand because she hadn't coughed on it.

"Encantado. Soy Daniel." He took her hand and shook it.

"Great, you know Spanish! Maybe you could help me with my honors Spanish homework!" she joked. He shrugged making her laugh.

"So, where'd your dad?" Daniel ventured. Jess' face fell and he knew she was still upset about the whole book thing.

"At the bloody mall getting a shirt. He said he'd take me and then said I couldn't go. I hate shopping, but we were gonna have dinner." As if on cue her stomach growled. "Sorry, it's hungry." She slouched down in her chair and put a leg out onto the drawer next to her and winced.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked concerned.

"Nothing, it's my leg." At his curious, but guarded look she smiled and said "A band-aid I have on it for a rash or whatever."

"Ah." There was a brief, but comfortable silence between them as they looked at each other and at the surrounding areas.

"Hey, why'd you come here?" She didn't ask how, but why he'd stopped here. Interesting.

"You looked like you needed a hug." Jess dropped her head and turned away from him a bit.

"I guess…" she answered sadly. Daniel stood leaned over and hugged his new friend. She turned around and hugged him with her head buried in his shoulder. "Yeah, I needed a hug," came her muffled voice and Daniel smiled.

One good deed a day, keeps the bad people away.


	2. Findings

i'm touched you guys like it so much!

**Desert Blossom-by-the-Sea:** you'll find out! i swear, Daniel will ask sometime soon...  
**neoelf: **i guess i am!  
**nightpheonix:** thank you sooo much! yay! my story gets pats!  
**DarkJediQueen: **well, here it is... some more!  
**The Mystical Pen:** ooh... daughter of Jack in her reality? ook... sounds like an idea!  
**The Libran Iniquity: **ah, this chappie we find out about the mirror  
**P.L.S.:** you really think so? _(hugs)_

more to come!

* * *

After a moment or two, Ms. Sniffles broke away from her hug with Daniel. She briskly rubbed her nose with her sweatshirt and Daniel once again plopped into the chair.

"Sorry about that," she said. Daniel gave her a smirk.

"Not a problem," his kind voice said. He looked well enough, not a slob or a scary person at all. When he'd come through the rock and touched her, she hadn't seen any malice in his eyes. Only caring kindness. Not only that, but she had been to down to show any frightened feelings.

She quickly glanced over her shoulder into the rock. The place looked… military. Clean and gray. Well, at least the storage room it was stored in was.

"Why do you have a quan-- this mirror here?" Daniel asked pulling her out of her reverie. She shrugged.

"It was at a yard sale. Owner didn't know what it did and I wanted it. Dad must have been in a good mood that day." She frowned.

"A yard sale?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"Yeah, why?" Jess asked carefully.

"Oh nothing… it's just that…" he took in a deep breathe, "I'm from another reality. Another universe if you will." Her eyes grew wide.

"No way!"

"Very way," he chuckled.

"How… how'd… How does it work!" she said with renewed enthusiasm.

"Umm, I don't know, but a friend of mine could tell you all the specifics," he answered.

"Really?" Jess asked again.

"Oh yeah…" It would be interesting to see Sam and Jess together. It seemed Jess was particularly interested in astrophysics or how things worked, but she was also very much like Jack in personality. It honestly wouldn't (or maybe it would) surprise him if the two were somehow related in this universe. Then again, Jack's family had the dominant brown hair gene, not red.

Not only that, but Jack wasn't as pale as she was.

"This friend of yours… she an astrophysicist or something?" she inquired. Daniel grinned, this girl was smart too.

"Actually, yes and I think she'd enjoy meeting you," Daniel said. "So would Jack… maybe," he muttered. Jessica gave him the raised eyebrow.

"Who's Jack?" she asked suspiciously, but with a playful glint in her eyes.

"Oh… a friend of mine who works there," he said as he pointed over his shoulder towards the mirror. "Super sarcastic, cynical, Daniel-basher, occasional military genius Colonel Jack O'Neill." She actually smiled when he said 'Daniel-basher.' Jeez… how nice. Oh dear, it sounded like Jack was rubbing off on him.

"Sounds like a nice guy," Jess responded back. Actually, he sounded like a really funny, nice guy. Someone who was almost a complete opposite from Daniel, but 'clicked' and got along with the archeologist.

"Very nice guy…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They had been talking for about an hour or so and Daniel's red-haired friend had cheered up considerably since they had first met.

"Huh… no distortion…," Daniel had muttered at one point through their conversation. Jess had turned towards her computer and had her head slightly bowed over.

"It's season six…"

"What?"

"Nothing… what's this?" she covered quickly. Daniel picked up the receiver to the quantum mirror.

"It's what turned on the mirror and located you," he explained.

"Me? Specifically?" she asked wondering.

"Sorry, I meant that it 'flips' through the realities like channels and I happened to see this one."

"Ah, okay."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**The SGC**

Sam had been searching for Daniel for the last half an hour, give or take a couple minutes. She needed him to translate Goa'uld and some Ancient for her.

"Where on Earth is he?" she said to herself. A passing airman gave her a wary look and continued on.

Walking down the hallways, she noticed one of the storage room doors opened. Ugh, airmen, what slobs. Going to close it, she realized this was the room the quantum mirror was stored in. Only SG-1, Dr. Frasier, and General Hammond had access to this room.

She stepped in and noticed that a light was emanating from the room.

'Okay… what idiot turned the mirror on and left it that way?' she thought, frustrated, to herself. She looked on and saw a familiar shape with an unfamiliar shape.

'Daniel…'

* * *

posted 11/29/05 ----- for when i don't believe myself on the date a year from now...

**REVIEW** please... i wanna know what YOU think!


	3. Found Out

ah... another chapter! I have Tech/Show Week this week... for anyone who doen't know what that means... it means its the weekof the show/play/musical. We're doing Oliver! and our first show is tomorrow... Wed... after that, I won't be home until like 11 at night...

**P.L.S.: maaaaybe... that's for me to know and for you to find out? hehe  
T.L.I.: eek! theories, tell me! I wanna know! gosh, your reviews are killing me...  
SamandJackForever: Glad you like the story!  
SG-Fan: Thanks... _blushes_  
Chas54: Does this answer your question? ;)**

* * *

The phone rang loudly startling Daniel and Jessica. Standing slowly, she glanced over the caller ID. It held a familiar number. Sighing loudly, but comically, she picked up the phone. 

"Hi… no, now is a bad time… Because I have someone over! None of your business brat… maybe I'll tell you later – maybe… Okay, call you later. Bye." Noticing Daniel's look on his face, she added "My best friend."

"Ah. Now I see the "brat" thing. Jack gets that sometimes too," he smiled. Settling again, she eyed the evil homework and put the window down – frustrated again. Again the phone rang.

"Gah!" she growled. "Grand Central…" she muttered before picking up the phone. Daniel smiled a little. "Hello? Oh hi dad… it's going great…" Sarcasm was evident as the spite showed through again. "Yeah, I got like, a paragraph done… yeah, that's **it**…" Her face fell suddenly, but she also looked livid. Jess' tone of voice became hard. "Yeah fine… food? Of course… bye." The last word seemed more forced than anything. Putting the phone back on the receiver none to gently, she knocked her head against the desk.

"Easy there," Daniel said comfortingly.

"What a jackass," she snarled. The older man looked startled. "What a freaking **jackass**!" Daniel's blue eyes locked on her green ones. "The man wants me to 'use my time wisely' and do more than I'm supposed to. Maybe I would have done it if it wasn't forced upon me, but also since I have had NO free time these last couple of weeks, you'd think I deserve a **_little_** time off, yes!" she spouted angrily.

"I think you do too," Daniel used his incredible social skills to make her feel a bit better.

"Well that's all dandy, but go tell the Self-Proclaimed God, the King, the System Lord, the freaking Master Asshole in the World!" Daniel looked taken aback with a cocked eyebrow.

"Sorry. Can you tell I'm pissed?" she said harshly with heavy sarcasm, fully knowing that her new friend Daniel didn't deserve any of this. None of her friends had experienced the pissed Jessica either, at least not to this degree. No, this was reserved for at home use.

**The SGC**

On the other side of the mirror, Sam stepped back quietly. Boy would she never want to see a temper like that flare out in a battle – it would suck. 'Redheads…' she thought. 'Quick tempers for quick uses.' At least that's what her father had always said. The girl seemed rather moody either that or only mad at the things that made her mad. That seemed perfectly reasonably, why be pissed at things that didn't deserve to be pissed at?

What a concept.

Wait… did she say "System Lord?"

**Home**

"Sorry 'bout that, really…" Jessica tried to apologize. Daniel was having none of it.

"No need to. Everyone needs to get out their anger somehow. Besides, I never suspected you for the 'scream-into-my-pillow' type anyway," he joked. They both smiled.

"My dad's not a mean person at all. You'd probably like him, but it just being me and him, I kinda understand. It's hard on him," the redhead explained. Daniel nodded. He turned to take in his surroundings again, but also trying to find a clock. Instead he caught a flash of blonde peeking out from behind the mirror.

In his swivel chair, Daniel smiled weakly and gave a little 'oh-shit,-I'm-found-out' wave. The owner of the blonde shock gave a little 'well-hello-there' wave back with a crooked smile that vaguely meant 'just wait until the colonel sees you.'

"Jess?"

"Mmm?"

"Meet my dear friend Major Sam Carter," he said as he pointed to the mirror. Jess waved brightly. What a change from before. Sam smiled and waved back.

Daniel sighed and realized that this was going to be a LOOONG day.


End file.
